Sunday, June 30, 2013

Alice May Brock said: “Tomatoes and oregano make it
Italian, wine and tarragon make it French, sour cream makes it Russian, lemon
and cinnamon make it Greek, soy sauce makes it Chinese, garlic makes it good.”

However bundled meal
components create a platform for convenient meal participation, differentiation
and individualization; are each hallmarks of the ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat
fresh prepared grocerant niche. That is
the recipe for retail food success in 2012.

Meal components allow customers
to select from Italian, American, French, Russian or Greek and utilize the
components at home any way they like.
The new American meal can be a composite of any prepared food components
that the individual may want and they can mix and pair them any way as well. The United States is a melting pot of people
from all over the world, with different cultures, traditions and flavor
preferences.

The new American meal is a
melting pot of flavor and choice. Meal
components that can be mix and matched for home consumption are integral to
retail success.

Fresh prepared and portable
ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat foods are now available for all comers and can be
found at Convenience stores, Drug stores, Grocery stores, Restaurants, Mobile
trucks all just waiting for the taking.
When developing new menu items do you consider where the food will be
consumed?

Consumers have been exposed to a
plethora of flavors and have not the time to master the skill of cooking
each. The rapidly growing grocerant
trend is empowering the consumer to establish new customs and traditions in
eating better, more flavorful food. The
Grocerant niche is about convenient
meal participation,
differentiation
and individualization.

Foodservice
Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you
identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or
a brand leveraging integration strategy. Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit
Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Pueblo’s grocerant
prepared food is perfectly positioned. Clean well stocked stores that are
beaming with patrons always are solid platforms for success. Pueblo is no exception. If your eyes on the
grocerant prepared food niche, Pueblo is one company that should be on your must
visit list.

Time starved with
diverse appetites after years of exposure to multi-cultural flavors profiles
today’s consumer want prepared meal components that can be individualized not
just family sized. Pueblo’s prepared
food program does just that. With
detailed attention to service, cleanliness and food quality its clear Pueblo is
focused on growing this booming niche within foodservice retail.

Friday, June 28, 2013

Are you cooking for an at home family
meal tonight? Are you cooking for two,
three, or four, family members, chances are very good your buying several
ready-2-eat or heat-N-eat fresh prepared meal components. Grocery stores, convenience stores and
restaurants are all bundling fresh prepared meal components for the home
cook. The home cook is responding buying
individualized components.

Foodservice branded and private label
food manufactures are all vying for your attention. Ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat
foods from Swiss steak, Meatloaf, Baked Salmon, Rotisserie Chicken, Pizza and
Lasagna fresh prepared, portioned and portable in portions for 1,2, or 5 are
all available at most foodservice retail location.

Most exciting is the opportunity for
new start-up’s and regional manufactures to produce sustainable business built
on local, fresh and unique flavor profiles.
Legacy national brand manufactures are experiencing an increase in
repositioning, consolidation and acquisition activities. Regional start-ups are thriving supplying
local restaurants, C-stores and grocery store delis.

Consumer are responding buying meal
components in new food channels, experiencing new flavor profiles all the while
individualizing the family meal. The
foodservice industry is evolving with the consumer. Those companies looking for opportunity for
growth times have never been better. The consumer is dynamic not static are you
keeping pace?

Foodservice Solutions®
specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify,
quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a brand
leveraging integration strategy. Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit
Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or
twitter.com/grocerant.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

With 8,500 stores Walgreens can be a competitive
threat to all. Walgreens continues to expand the depth and direction of the
Grocerant niche. The grocerant niche is a result
of the blurring of the line between restaurants, grocery stores, convenience
stores, and drug stores all selling fresh prepared, portable convenient meal
solutions. Targeted at the time-starved
consumer with Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food components that are
“better for you”, portable and portioned for one or two. Walgreens gets it and
is positioning for a much larger share of the food retailing dollar. At 4PM you may soon be picking up dinner on
your way home from work at Walgreens.

In a program rolled
out in the San Francisco bay area you can now find fresh
fruits and vegetables, salads, sushi ,
sandwiches and Heat-N-Eat meat loaf. In addition Walgreens spokesman Robert
Elifinger stated “ Our San Francisco area customers are already buying a lot of
food in our stores, and there are requests for more product offerings," he
said.

In addition to the items listed above - and
Walgreens' more traditional offerings, including candy, potato chips and soda -
there'll be meats, wraps, soups "and other on-the-go meal options, as well
as convenient alternatives for tonight's meal,"

With this new market test underway, Walgreens is
now testing fresh food in New York via Duane-Reade, Chicago and the San
Francisco bay area. For all of my regular readers you have heard it hear before
but this trend is sweeping the country from coast to coast.

These expanded points of distribution may well
challenge many a legacy fresh food retailer including chain restaurants,
grocery stores and convenience stores for market share.

Since 1991 retail
food consultancy Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global
leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven Johnson and Foodservice
Solutions® Bing or Google Grocerants or visit
http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant, twitter.com/grocerant or Facebook Steven

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Restaurants and CPG manufactures are all in a race to
garner share of stomach. However it’s
the grocery store sector that is garnering the attention of consumers. With a new wave of meal kits designed to
complement fresh food offerings provide a today and tomorrow solutions for
consumer.

for cross-merchandising. The Kraft Recipe Makers for New England Pot
Roast, is sold alongside fresh meal components the ilk of beef chuck roast, red
potatoes, baby carrots, and onions.
These items ease, speed, and edify the cooking process.

Maggiano’s Little Italy has
seen such success with its “Today and Tomorrow” promotion that it is now a
permanent menu fixture. In fact Darden’s Olive Garden copied Maggiano’s this
spring with a “Buy one, take one home” promotion with no coupon necessary.
Watch for more of this type of promotion from within the restaurant sector in
2014 including buy one in the restaurant get one free (CPG) in the frozen food
court aka the grocery store.

Many grocery stores the ilk of
Whole Foods, H.E. B., Metropolitan Market, Bristol Farms offer carving stations
for fresh prepared meats or outdoor grilled - BBQ foods, salad bars, entrée’s
and side dish that can be bundled into a customized family meal.

Many of these new and
non-traditional meal bundled options expand the retail food model for success.
Consumers are not as concerned which channel they shop, as they are on the halo
of brand they buy. Grocerant ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat food is booming. How are your sales booming? Where do you sell
you for today?

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Following the evolving retail
food customers is what all successful food retailers do. Today the battle for
share of stomach has never been so competitive nor has there been so many
retailers chasing the same customers.
Rutter’s, Wawa, H.E.B., Central Market, Wegmans, Whole Foods all are
positioning for casual, fast casual consumers.

Foodservice Solutions Grocerant
Guru, Steven Johnson has highlighted the value of bundling fresh prepared meal
components as a platform for consumer choice that is both inviting and
empowering for consumers. Most importantly mix and match fresh prepared meal components
are key drives to the rapid growth of the grocerant niche. The equilibrium resides in the balance
between price and quality.

The NPD Group found when looking at restaurant consumer
trends in a recent studyDefining
Value: Where Consumers Choose to Eat Out,”
identified five segments among restaurant consumers, the largest of which are
not driven by lowest pricing and deals. Two of the largest consumer segments,
foodies, and restaurant regulars, which together represent 58 percent of the
market, care less about price and deals and more about the quality and
freshness of their meal. Fresh ingredients and freshly prepared food are also
strong motivators among fast casual visitors.” These are the same value drivers
for C-store and grocery-deli prepared food that are driving change in the fresh
food retail landscape.

Food consumers today
want food retailers to offer fresh prepared food in a platform for convenient meal
participation, differentiation and individualization for families and or singles. The convergence and focus of the consumer is
key. Foodservice Solutions research
found that the channel the consumer shops in is irrelevant; fresh prepared,
meal component options portioned for 1 or 5 is more important. Channel blurring does not exist in the mind’s
eye of the consumer. It only exist in
the mind’s eye of Neanderthal brand marketers.

Interested
in learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand
while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation
and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit
Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Monday, June 24, 2013

When Foodservice Solutions
Grocerant Guru, Steven Johnson wrote in 2009 that “Brinker and Darden were
experiencing and ill equilibrium in branding” he was right. Restaurant consumer discontinuity has
continued to evolve into customer migration. Customer migration can be curtailed
when a restaurant company focuses on the customer not the economy.

When Darden's, CEO Clarence Otis
the operator of the Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse said “chains
expects a macroeconomic environment this fiscal year that will be similar to
fiscal 2013, with slow and uneven recovery in both the overall economy and our
industry. That means many guests will continue to need and expect us to
emphasize affordability." He may be
right the economy appears stagnant, however not as stagnant as Dardens brands.
If success leaves clues Darden's justification and rationalization of the
economic conditions over brand relevance may be a clue to Darden's future
performance. When our Grocerant Guru Steven Johnson wrote in 2009 about Darden
the following:

“What are your customers shopping
for and where? One of the things that happens when a restaurant brand becomes
complacent is consumers reduce the frequency of visits. What are the signs of a
brand becoming sick? What role does brand protectionism play in the restaurant
industry? When brand managers and C-level executives utilize justification and
rationalization to explain results you know that what they did, didn’t work.

Brand Managers understand that consumers are dynamic not static. Brands must be
dynamic as well. When brands play the wait and see game, the only thing they
are truly waiting for is the customer to walk into the store. The problem is it
just happens less and less. Focusing on price rather than product and product
innovation continues to stifle many a foodservice company. “Johnson was right
then and we think he is right now.

Well not much has changed for
Darden. With outside eye’s and implemented change Boston Market has been up 9%+
for two years and recently reported sales were up 16%+. With outside eye’s Domino’s also implemented
change and continues to outperform peers with positive same stores sales and
even higher growth in earnings per share momentum in a highly competitive
sector. Both Boston Market and Domino’s
have repositioned their brands, refocused menu’s, and while focusing on the
evolving food consumer, not the economy. When our Grocerant Guru Steven Johnson
wrote in 2009 that:

“Food is not out of favor or
flavor! What is out; is a style of management mediocrity and compliancy. A
brand is a promise that must be on-going dynamic and consumer relevant. The
value of the brand is a result from interactive between contemporary relevance
of the brand and the consumer.” He was right.

When profit from cigarettes began
to decline as a profit generator the vast majority of convenience store channel
operators focused on fresh food. Now prepared fresh food is the highest margin
and fastest growing sector of their business units. Grocerant prepared food is
booming across all channels, Restaurant, Supermarket, Convenience Stores,
Dollar Stores, Kiosk and Mobile Trucks. Darden is on the right track with
sustainable sourcing which prove well worth the effort.

Legacy chain restaurants cannot
practice brand protectionism in 2013 it is a legacy marketing crutch that
worked well in the Golden Era of chain restaurants the 1960’s, 70’s, 80’s, even the early 90’s
but has been proven irrelevant since 1995. Times, the industry, and most
important consumers have evolved.
Today chain restaurants must understand evolving consumer nuance
including how “The 65 Inch HDTV Syndrome” is as important as integrating “The 5
P’s of food Marketing”. If success does leave clues the customer is dynamic not
static is one of them.

Interested
in learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand
while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation
and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit
Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or
twitter.com/grocerant

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Graduations, Weddings, Christenings, Funerals, or just for fun catering
is a platform for easy of mind, quality food and a lot less work. Grocery stores fresh prepared food has been
growing in quality and customer acceptance. In fact ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat
fresh prepared food is the fastest growing sector within supermarkets today.

One great example is in South Florida. Publix offers full service
catering (picture above) with a great variety of menu items and pricing. Importantly Publix brings value added bundled
service to any catering event with in house flowers arrangements, decorations
and highly trained staff with a focus on service.

This new catering industry
competitive service is called: Publix Aprons Events Planning Catering. It covers everything from customized and
printed menus to on-store meal preparation, venue organization, and serving
staff. Here is a direct link: http://www.publix.com/aprons/catering/Home.do

So the next time you are
going to have a party, call a catering company think about your local grocery
store they may just have the fresh prepared ready-2-eat or heat-N-eat food you
are looking for.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

When food retailers are looking
for avenues of opportunity to grow sales they can leverage ready-2-eat and
heat-N-eat fresh prepared grocerant niche options to find success. Jim Hertal, managing partner with Willard
Bishop said “there is much turmoil caused by consumer shifts. Baby boomers, with
incomes falling, are fading in importance and convenience-oriented millennial
consumers are on the rise,…. “fresh” format sales increases significantly led
all formats. (numbers below)

“The optimistic note for today is
that real growth and not just inflation is available today for food retailers
and manufacturers who know that to look for and embrace the future,” he said.
“Amazon is not the only e-commerce format that is likely to succeed going
forward,” he said. E-commerce food sales are expected to grow `12.1% yearly.” Which are nice numbers albeit from a very low
base.

On the other hand take a look at
the numbers provided by Willard Bishop.
They found that “Traditional supermarket dollars increased 3.4% in 2012,
but the market share of those stores remained steady at 46.5%. Hertel said
“fresh” format sales increases significantly led all formats, he said. Fresh
format sales rose 22.5% to $12.7 billion in 2012. Whole Foods enjoyed a
same-store sales increase of 8.7%, followed by The Fresh Market with a 5.7%
gain in 2012.

$12.7 billion is a very good base
to build from. While many grocery stores
and restaurants continue to scoff at ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared
food niche that $12.7 billion is in grocery alone not that within restaurants,
drug stores, dollar stores etc. Growing
at 22.5% a year in grocery is a very good number. If success does leave clues a high growth rate
is one of them.

Outside eyes can deliver top line sales and
bottom line profits. Invite Foodservice Solutions® to provide brand and product positioning
assistance or a grocerant program assessment. Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global
leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven Johnson and Foodservice
Solutions® visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Friday, June 21, 2013

In
a hurry, but want a balanced meal? Look no further than your favorite
convenience store. Think I’m kidding. If
growth is a key to success the then everyone must look at the growth rate of
the convenience store sector. The C-store sector is the only sector of retail
food service to experience positive numbers for the past 5 years.

How
have they done it? Partnering with fresh food suppliers, bundling, ready-2-eat
and heat-N-eat meal components into options that consumer found attractive. 7
Eleven grew 14.4% last year alone with 50% of the new unit’s not selling
gasoline. 7 Eleven is focusing on fresh
ready-2-eat food.

Wade
Hanson principal at Technomic says “gone are the day of trips to the grocery
store designed to address a family’s needs for the next one or two weeks”. What
is happing is consumer are migrating on two fronts they are leaving grocery
visits behind but are ever increasing leaving quick service restaurants behind
as well.

7
Eleven is not the only company in the C-store sector doing well. Wawa is
expanding in Florida; Sheetz continues its growth outside Pennsylvania, and
Casey General Store has continued expanding into new markets while driving
solid same store sale growth.

Were your same-store sales up 7 % or
better in 2012? Interested in learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify
your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient
meal participation, differentiation and
individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit
Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or
twitter.com/grocerant

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Do you have time to eat, time for dinner or even time for cooking at home
today? If you are "ready-2-eat" there is a very good chance you are
looking for fresh prepared multi-flavor, multi-ethnic Grocerant meal
components. Heat-N-eat and ready-2eat fresh prepared food with portability is
driving retail food success in 2012. Where are you shopping for you food today
is not the same place your mother was nor is the meal prepared the same way.

As long as multi-generational family's gather for meals together, the
demand for more divergent flavors continues to permeate. Grocerant mix and
match bundled meal component offerings allow for increased family integration,
understanding and acceptance in less time without a required cook from scratch
skill set.

In the 1940's cooking from scratch was the normal. The average home cooked
meal took 150 minutes to prepare. Everyone sat down at the table and enjoyed it
or not but they all ate the same thing. Today's "home cooked meal"
takes on average less than 30 minutes to prepared. In most cases at least two
different entrées are served.

The average time spent inside a McDonalds in the 2,000 was 11 minutes.
Today 65+ percent of all McDonald's food is sold via the drive-thru. U.S.
fast-food chains are increasingly remodeling restaurants in an effort to garner
additional drive-thru customers inside and increase sales, simple because the
drive-thru can't hold all the cars.

According to the New York Times Magazine - McDonalds Came Back Bigger Than
Ever McDonald's Corp. saw a 50% increase in sales during the first quarter of
2012 after opening a remodeled restaurant in Riverside, California, that
features a new décor, solar panels on the carport, and ceiling panels that
contain L.E.D. lights. During the first 12 months, sales at this restaurant
increased 20% overall.

Walgreens
is creating and bundling distinctive differentiated food consumable's as an entity
with identity by day part in a mix and match meal component format in
select urban setting targeted at both the office worker for lunch and meal
components for them to take home for the family dinner. It is a successful
program. With over 7,550 units operating in the United States Walgreens has the
potential to become the most disruptive force in food retailing in 50 years.
Walgreens with its modular mid-sized foot-print is garnering customers from
both restaurants and grocery stores.

Consumers Want Easy to Prepare Meals

The
grocerant niche continues to grow with companies like Central Market,
Whole Foods, Wegmans and 7 Eleven entering the fresh prepared better for you
space. Meal time is now becoming a time of convenient meal participation,
with differentiation and individualization for the entire family.
Safeway with its lifestyle stores are heading in the right direction however
the stores are so large consumers are forced to spend more time in them than
they want.

More often than not the multi-generational family today is multi-ethnic as
well. Creating a demand for more varied flavors and additional cooking skill
set that is simply not there. Grocery stores, Convenience Stores, Restaurants
and Chain Drug Stores are all selling ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared
food. Is your focus family dinning? Are you selling
meals or meal components for Take-Out, delivery or Take-Away?

Lacking the skill set to prepared fresh prepared multi-ethnic meal
components at home coupled with the time it takes too prepare a home cooked
meal it is clear the buying habits of consumers will continue to evolve. Bundling
mix and match meal components into a meal is one key driver within the
grocerant niche. Given that most American family are comprised of
multi-cultural background. The fight for share of stomach will only intensify.

Restaurants menu's at one time were very narrow in focus and have
moved more upscale with offerings such as Oriental; Chicken Salad,
Southwest Chicken Salad, along with a chef salads. Grocery stores on the other
hand are expected to sell complete lines of reay-2-eat multi-ethnic food. That
places higher expectations on grocers than restaurants or a company like
Walgreens. Walgreens might just be in the perfect spot to expand fresh prepared
food offerings capturing customers from both restaurants and supermarkets.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® a Tacoma, WA based
retail foodservice consultancy has been the global leader in the Grocerant
niche. For product or brand positioning assistance contact Steven Johnson or the
Grocerant LinkedIn page or on Facebook at Steven Johnson, BING / GOOGLE: Steven
Johnson Grocerants or Grocerant
on Twitter

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Whataburger understands
that customer brand activation begins with an invitation. New products in non-traditional avenues of
distribution are a great way for regional companies to extend the brand while
edifying base customers.

Leveraging collaborative
marketing with product development, Whataburger working with the H-E-B new
product development team co-developed Whatafries. Whatafries are part of H-E-B’s exclusive
Whataburger condiment lineup. The Whatafries “are fry-shaped chips cut from real potatoes.
They can be heated or eaten straight out of the bag.”

The age of collaborative marketing and product
development has arrived and successful brand management requires an inclusive
strategy, executed with consumer focused innovative tactics. Whataburgers Whatafries will be sold
exclusively at H-E-B, Central Market, Mi Tienda and Joe V’s Smart Shop stores
beginning June 24. Texas based Whataburger is focused on its core customers
Texans collaboration with H-E-B edifies this beloved brand to more Texans at
home, on the road or at a Whataburger.
If success leaves clues this Texas two-step in one of the clues.

Other product H-E-B introduced
for Whataburger are Fancy Ketchup, Spicy Ketchup and its Original Mustard
condiments all sold within H-E-B stores. The
food value proposition equilibrium for the consumer today balances; better for you, flavor, and traditional
products all blendedinto
something with a twist. In industry
speak, differentiated does not mean different to the consumer it means
familiar. Do you need help? Call Tacoma, Washington based Foodservice Solutions.

Outside eyes can deliver
top line sales and bottom line profits. Invite Foodservice Solutions® to provide brand and
product positioning assistance or a grocerant program assessment. Since 1991 Foodservice
Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche for
more on Steven Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

While
Amazon garners attention in the press with the rollout of online grocery
ordering in LA and continued testing of Amazon Spotlight. The share of market
within grocery Amazon is after is in fact inconsequential to legacy food
retailers looking to win the hearts and minds of consumers today and 10 years
from now.

Florida
is ground zero in the batter of share of stomach. The consumer is looking for
fresh prepared ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat meal options. Amazon can garner
online business because their strategy is to find a last mile solution grocery
deliver akin to the milkman will provide them that.

If
success leaves clues, evolving with the consumer is one of them. The consumer continues to migrate to the
ready-2-eat and heat-eat space. There is
no sign that the rate of migration will slow.

Publix and Wal-Mart are swapping ad’s at each other in an attempt
to garner market share from one another all the while Wawa, Thornton’s and
RaceTrac are expanding into the state and Wawa has committed $574+ millions for
new units alone. 7 Eleven has refocused
it eye’s on Northeast Florida buying units or opening new ones. All while Florida
restaurant sales are flat or slipping and grocerant fresh prepared ready-2-eat
and heat-N-eat food is one reason. Publix, Whole Foods, Bi-Lo, Wawa, 7Eleven,
Walmart, and Racetrac are all selling fresh prepared food.

The United States Census reports that 50% of adults over the age
of 18 are single. Can anyone be surprised by the developments in the retail
food space? Nielsen reports that in 2013 there are more convenience stores in
the United States than the number of drugstores, supermarkets and dollar stores
combined.

Convenience stores
account for 34.8 percent of all retail outlets in the United States. The
average shopper who enters the store is in and out in 3 minutes, 33 seconds. Wawa
does not sell beer in any of their northeast locations and less than half of
the northeast locations offer gas. Wawa
has built its reputation selling fresh prepared food. 7 Eleven currently is
opening about 50% of its new locations within the United States without
gas. Food and fresh “better for you”
food is the driving force for 7 Elevens growth.

With Walgreens
entering the fresh food market place Floridians will have another outlet to
find fresh prepared meal components.
Restaurant industry executives will need to adjust menu and marketing
messaging in order to maintain market share.

Interested
in learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand
while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation
and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit
Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or
twitter.com/grocerant

Monday, June 17, 2013

Has your restaurant remodeled or added new equipment on the advice of a
commission consultant? Then your restaurants may be more like a Kodak Camera
than a Disney movie. I have you noticed that Kodak is nearly out of business.
Growing up in the 1960’s and ‘70’s, every family had a Kodak Camera and I still
have one of mine. Those yellow boxes were everywhere and getting your very own
Kodachrome camera was seemingly a rite of passage, heck, Paul Simon even wrote
a song about it.

As digital cameras gained popularity, Kodak stuck to what they believed. They
sneered at digital’s quality, righteous in their knowledge that Americans would
NEVER give up shiny pictures for their photo albums.

Today, cell phone cameras take most of the pictures and they are rarely
printed. Kodak will shut the doors, correct in their assertion that
professionally developed pictures look better than low-resolution versions
uploaded to Facebook.

Being
dead and correct is not a great strategy. Today chain restaurants are either growing or
dying much the same as Kodak. Simply look at restaurants that filed bankruptcy
of late: Claim Jumper, Mr. Pita, Friendly’s, Chevys, Sbarro, Perkins. They are not all dead but they have been far
from right.

These are statements frequently heard from legacy restaurant operators.
Like Kodak, crystal clear that what has always worked will continue to work.

• Our executives have 30 years of experience and know how to run the business.
• We never use coupons, nor do we deliver.
• We don’t allow or brand to wander, we protect our brand.
• We don’t use online ordering, I-pad ordering or voice screen ordering.
• We don’t advertise on Google, Twitter or Facebook.
• We don’t open for breakfast.
• We like the umbrella approach each store different personality but under one
umbrella.
• Video menus and video signage is visceral gimmickry.
• We don’t measure ingredients, we create daily specials and simply show
employees how to make it
• We can’t raise our menu prices.

How did a dominant brand and sector leader like Kodak, in a rock-solid consumer
staple lose everything? Simple, they determined the market, the direction of
that market and took the steps to conquer it. If that sounds like your restaurant, retail
food sector or niche leader, you better keep reading.

There is little about today’s market, the consumer or food marketing /
promotions that was predictable 3 years ago. In the next three years the rate
of change will continue to increase. So let’s look at the above list:

Reliability and a comfortable working relationship is correctly a key to
success. However, if you find your team
is blaming the economy, minimum wages increases, cost of health care and rising
food cost for disappointing results. Do not forget that many companies are
growth both the top and bottom line, number of units and garnering market
share. It might be time for Outside
Eyes.

We always/never use coupons – coupons and promotions are very complicated
today. Add the online aggregators the ilk of Livingsocial and Groupon and how
can you know what works. Here is the point, what you measure you manage. All
advertising must have a objective that is clear and measurable to insure a
proper marketing ROI.

We don’t deliver – face it, convenience is a driving reason why foodservice is
popular. If you do not want to deliver, consider outsourcing. Deliver is not about you. That’s right it is
about the consumer.

We protect the value of our brand and its integrity for the consumer,
our shareholders and stakeholders. We
know the consumer is dynamic not static, but our customer’s comeback because we
have a brand promise and they trust in us to keep that promise. Sounds a lot
like Kodak, don’t you think?

We don’t use online ordering our food does not “carry” well. Think about this if you don’t have a way to
connect your menu to computers and mobile devices, your competition will woo
your customers. Consumers are time starved, and hooked on technology, make it
easy.

Google or Facebook – as above, set up a Facebook page, it costs nothing. Have
someone help if you need it and then monitor your page 5 minutes a day. Don’t think about it get started today.

We don’t open for breakfast – you pay rent 24/7, find ways to increase the
utilization of your “factory”. Considering catering or school lunch program,
contract out your kitchen. Don’t become
the next Kodak of chain restaurants.

Different store brands / personalities under one large corporation and all
expected to operate utilizing a uniform set of metrics. Worked well in the 70’s, 80’s but you have
the answer. Let me know just how well
that works out.

Visceral gimmickry does not replace high quality food and great service
ever. Who defines quality service? You’re
via your brand promise or the consumer?

We don’t measure ingredients; my employees know how much to use – why have menu
prices, let customer pay whatever they want. If you don’t care what your
product costs, you CAN’T make money.
We can’t raise our menu prices – tell that to the gas station owner on the
corner, or the farmer growing your food. Costs are up, you must raise your menu
prices or you will not exist.

Kodak management, smart and hard working as they were, did not see the world
changing, fortunately you do. Realize that change is good and necessary. Act
now to challenge your assumption, create new revenue streams and increase
profits.

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced
business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional
food retail segment opportunities or a brand leveraging integration strategy.
Foodservice Solutions of Tacoma WA is the global
leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant
or
twitter.com/grocerant.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Publix and Walmart are swapping ad’s at each other in an attempt
to garner market share from one another all the while Wawa, Thornton’s and
RaceTrac are expanding into the state at record rates trying to keep up with 7
Eleven which has refocused it eye’s on Northeast Florida. Florida restaurant
sales are flat or slipping and grocerant prepared food is one reason.

The United States Census reports that 50% of adults over the age
of 18 are single. Can anyone be surprised by the developments in the retail
food space? Nielsen reports that in 2013 there are more convenience stores in
the United States than the number of drugstores, supermarkets and dollar stores
combined.

Convenience stores
account for 34.8 percent of all retail outlets in the United States. The
average shopper who enters the store is in and out in 3 minutes, 33 seconds. Wawa
does not sell beer in any of their northeast locations and less than half of
the northeast locations offer gas. Wawa
has built its reputation selling fresh prepared food. 7 Eleven currently is
opening about 50% of its new locations within the United States without
gas. Food and fresh “better for you”
food is the driving force for 7 Elevens growth.

With Walgreens
entering the fresh food market place Floridians will have another outlet to
find fresh prepared meal components.
Restaurant industry executives will need to adjust menu and marketing
messaging in order to maintain market share.

Interested
in learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand
while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation
and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit Facebook.com/Steven
Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Fresh & Easy may be getting “better for
you” soon. The LA Times reported this
week that Ron Berkle may be interested in all of the 200+ locations. The times
said: “Burkle is no stranger
to supermarket deals. The magnate was the largest shareholder of Wild Oats when
the brand was sold for $565 million to rival Whole Foods Market Inc. in 2007.
Earlier in his career, Burkle handled leveraged buyouts of grocery chains such
as Food 4 Less, Ralphs and Fred Meyer….

Burkle could well breathe new life into
the former purveyor of organic and natural foods, who was bought out by Whole
Foods. But after a drawn out battle with the FTC over violation of antitrust laws, they were forced to give up Wild Oats
in 2007. The pysical locations of the stores were then parceled out to Trader
Joe's, Kroger and Gelsons. “

Not so long ago what Wild Oats had was
a strong base of “better for you” customers that we accustom to ready-2-eat and
heat-N-eat fresh prepared food. Those
customers with were both interactive and participatory with the brand, the food
and meal assembly.

I for one hope the rumors that Wild
Oats replaces Fresh & Easy are true. It is rare to find a successful
ideation and a 200+ location launching pad.
Wild Oats can be revived, reloaded, as a ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat
better for you chain that would be a positive industry disruption, long overdue.
If success leaves clues this may be a big clue to the future of food retail.

Interested in
learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while
creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation
and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit
Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or
twitter.com/grocerant

Friday, June 14, 2013

General Mills
entered the Grocerant niche Putting Betty Crocker on Wheels. Betty Crocker just might be on her way you
your house with dinner. Legacy food manufactures are being replaced in grocery
stores with fresh ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat prepared food. General Mills the one time owner of Red
Lobster and Olive Garden understand the evolving consumer marketplace and does
not want to miss playing a vital role in retail foodservice moving
forward.

In a quest to
reintroduce and introduce Betty Crocker to an entire new generation of dinners
while leveraging and targeting seniors with the familiar trusted Betty Crocker
Brands; face, food, and flavors, General Mills continues industry leader.

This Spring
General Mill’s launched a unique food
delivery service in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota area. Under the General Mills umbrella named “Betty
Crocker Kitchens”. The program is beginning with “25 meals under the Betty Crocker Kitchens banner,
including what the company calls “homestyle favorites” such as pot roast,
meatloaf, chicken dishes and pasta. The frozen meals, rooted in recipes from
the Betty Crocker cookbook, are in single-serving trays with easy-to-open
packaging.”

If you live in the Twin Cities area you can order
food online at: www.BettyCrockerKitchens.com, a General Mills 800 phone number,
or through CobornsDelivers a regional grocery will be doing the delivery.”
General Mills say’s Orders are to be “filled within 24 hours” there is a
minimum order is seven meals for $55, including delivery.

How are you leveraging you brand at retail. The consumer is dynamic not static. Is your company moving with your customers?
Is your brand simultaneously extending the brand to new consumer while edifying
legacy customers? No; Why not?

Interested in
learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating
a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation
and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit
Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Sometimes
food industry experts pontificate why sales are flat, why the sectors down, why
customers are spending, when what they should say is simply we blew it. The
accelerating success of the ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh food grocerant
niche is one of the fastest growing industry undercurrents that companies the
ilk of Technomic, Mintel, NPD and Nielsen have missed.

Many
legacy companies benchmark annual reporting metrics back to 60’s, 70’s and
early 80’s providing great lessons is what was.
We have gone from black and white televisions, family size of 3.4 people
per family, Pizza Huts you actually ate in utilizing tables and chairs. Then came restaurants with drive-thru’s, bank
machines, color TV, family size of 3.2 people. Dial Up computers were next,
coffee shops that sold coffee only, wireless phones. Now we have global
internet, 90% of people have their own mobile phone, and food deliver from
Steak-Out steaks, Burger King burgers, Amazon groceries. Benchmarking industry metrics is a good
idea. However in-order too foresee
what’s coming the time frame of the metric and the metric’s must be up-dated
from time to time.

Today,
50 percent of Americans over the age of 18 are single. Food consumption behavior for single
consumers is driving the evolution of retail foodservice at a faster pace than
ever before. While the economic recession created consumers that became
increasingly “needs-based” their needs are distinctively different today,
transforming retail foodservice. The same is true around the world.

Along with the increase in single consumers
are those that are over 60. In 2000 the
over 60 sector represented an all-time high of 11% of the global population. In
2050 it is estimated to be 22% or 2 billion.

In
1980 that family of 3.2 sat down and everyone share the dinner with the same
entrée. Today, when the kids graduate from college they return home as
boomerang kids and eat hand held food, not from home. They have a desire to
continue discovering particularly when it comes to food and food outlets.

Information
about food abounds today 15% of U.S. adults have shopped for groceries online.
In fact 75% of all consumers shop online. Big Data has big insights that legacy
companies benchmarked legacy metric’s simply did not could envision. Today 54% of all consumers leverage social
media to discover new foods or new avenues of food distribution.

When
it comes to ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food consumer are
delighted when they find places the ilk of Pinkies Liquor stores in Texas,
Whole Foods ready-2-eat food stations, Casey’s General Stores hot Pizza and or
delivery, Price Chopper’s new concept with 16 different eateries inside,
Central Market where fresh prepared ready-2-eat is driving growth, Wawa and
Sheetz made 2 order fresh food, and Eatzi’s where quality is complemented by
employee training and food quality.

When
the household make-up has changed so dramatically, driven in large part by
singles the value of peer influence has never been greater. That influence is magnified when one
considers how social media, TV, Radio, and the internet interconnect with
things like Skype, Youtube, iPad, and Kindle.

When
I asked “Where is your customer” the answer is buying ready-2-eat meals, meal
components and bundling meal components for a non-traditional family meals and
or meals with friends. If you want better answers you must ask relevant questions. Who are you selling food for and where are
they? We know, We have Known, and We can
help.

Interested in
learning how the 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while
creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation
and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit
Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or
twitter.com/grocerant

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

NDP Group and IRI both
concluded review of the convenience store channel and agree that convenience
stores with fresh prepared food and loyalty programs edify sales and brand
positioning. With over 149,000 units, chain
convenience stores are garnering share while increasing frequency faster than
independent convenience stores.

In IRI’s Times & Trends
report “Convenience stores: Keep the Core; Appeal to More” identifies that
successful operators are adding “good for you” products, albeit they are adding
them next to candy bars. Customers are
experimenting with the new products and rewarding operators with return visits
and driving the rapid adoption of “better for you” products. The IRI report found “When compared
to grocery and drug stores, convenience stores were the only channel that
enjoyed both dollar and unit sales growth in 2012.”

The NPD Group report found consumers are leading the way. NPD found that consumer traffic increased by
2 percent in the first quarter of 2013, compared to the same period a year ago
leading to a 6 percent increase in spending during that period.

In addition
the NPD reports showed that customer visit frequency also grew
quarter-over-quarter to 6.1 visits in a 30 day period with 48.8 percent of the
U.S. population reporting visiting a convenience store in the last 30 days.

Looking like restaurants “7 percent of conventional c-store
shoppers citing rewards or store loyalty as a reason for choosing a specific
chain,… 5 percent of shoppers who list coupons, discounts sales or promotions
as a chain selection reason, one in 10 c-store shoppers now select a store for
deals”.

Leveraging the 5 P’s
of food marketing, C-stores are finding success. Interested in learning how the
5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a
platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation
and individualization contact us via Email us at: grocerant@q.com or visit
Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or
twitter.com/grocerant

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

The success of
ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food has been
documented, talked about and written about for one reason of late. It is
driving top line sales and bottom line profits within existing points of distribution
and more importantly at non-traditional points of fresh food distribution
garnering share from legacy food retailers.

Is your food company prepared to succeed in 2013, 2014 … 2020? Here are
some of the advantages to entering or expanding your business within the
grocerant niche:

Exposure to more customers and all Sides of the Food
Business

Most large food retailers, big companies, have a narrow focus. That has
worked for 50 years. They have honed their brand and supply chain. They have
set and defined boundaries, and it is difficult to get outside of them. Time
and technology have redefined the consumer playing field. Your brand must
become dynamic again or risk losing consumer relevance. There is a huge
opportunity for share of market if you elect to
evolve you brand with migrating fresh food consumers in take-out and take-way options.

People Reward Potential

Large food retailers typically pay more at the C-level, and are seen as
stable employment currencies (not-taking risk). However the grocerant niche
when vertically integrated into an existing brand creates a new level of
excitement within the entire company. When sales grow, the opportunity for
advancement expands, building team momentum, excitement explodes like a
wildfire. Customers can feel the proactive positive buzz from employees. Doing
nothing Boring Doing Something Soaring.

Proactive Change is Exposure to Success

Change is incredibly dynamic, consumer focused changed is contagious.
Change evolves and will go through a bell curve, and you see the whole thing
step by step when you vertically integrate change into brand and consumer
values. If not integrated you do not really get to escape the velocity of the
event, but change is exciting nonetheless and customers will still follow.

Impacting Consumer Relevance Means Thriving not Simply
Staying Alive

Are you going to tangibly impact your company or maintain the status quo?
Today like never before companies have the ability to evolving a brand at a
speed not seen since your company was a start-up. What impact are you going to
have on your company? There is a difference between the work you do and the
impact you have. Fresh Food retailing is evolving at break neck speed,
evidenced by the Dollar Store
formats selling more foods and Walgreens selling
fresh foods and doing it well as you can see from this video of a Walgreens in San Francisco. Is your brand
evolving fast?

Spin Out, Spin Off or Springboard to more Profitability

If you do nothing but wait, watch or blame the economy you are very likely
to simply spin out of control. Redefining your brand with consumer relevance
will position you too either create a positive spin off or springboard to the
next level. Legacy organizations need to be mindful that springboards do great
things for your organization, your team and your shareholders.

Success Does Leave Clues and Foodservice Solutions® is
clue # 1

LTO's (Limited Time Offers) can drive top line sales and bottom line
profits while taking you in a new direction. Are your LTO's leading your brand,
testing your brand or simply copy-cat marketing tactics absent strategy?

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® a Tacoma, WA based retail foodservice
consultancy has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. For product or
brand positioning assistance contact via: grocerant@q.com, the Grocerant
LinkedIn page or on Facebook at Steven Johnson, BING / GOOGLE: Steven
Johnson Grocerants or Grocerant on Twitter

Monday, June 10, 2013

Food retailers that
develop a platform allowing meal co-creation for in the car, at the office or
at home are winning the hearts and minds of today’s retail food consumers. The grocerant niche comprised of the
Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food is driving the success of the
retail foodservice today.

All retail food sectors
have innovators the Grocerant Niche is no different. Within the grocerant space restaurants
started with Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Chipotle Mexican Grill, Panera
Bread, Domino’s Pizza, MCD, BK and a whole lot more. The grocery sector started
with Wegmans Metropolitan Market, Whole Foods and Safeway and the “lifestyle”
stores. Convenience Stores have Sheetz,
Wawa, Rutter’s, Casey’s General stores and 7 & Eleven. The 5drivers are:

1.Placement, visceral
presentation, freshness how it looks and is presented.

2.Product, the ability to build your meal with bundled
components family member will eat.

3.Packaging, individualized
portions, power to select quality and quantity of items viewed.

4.Price, ability
to evaluate price vs. time to cook from scratch and competitors.

Success does leave clues and many
retail food operators are now adopting Foodservice Solutions® 5 P’s of food
marketing: Product,
Packaging, Placement, Portability and Price. Is your company integrating the 5
P’s of food marketing?

Outside eyes can deliver top line sales and
bottom line profits. Invite Foodservice Solutions® to provide brand and product positioning
assistance or a grocerant program assessment. Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global
leader in the Grocerant niche for more on Steven Johnson and Foodservice
Solutions® visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant